7:31 p.m. ET, October 28, 2020
First-class mail processing score craters in key battleground states ahead of the election
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
A USPS mail collection box is seen on a corner near Boston Edison and Woodward Village in Detroit, Michigan on September 4.
Elaine Cromie/The Washington Post/Getty Images
United States Postal Service districts in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida all saw major declines in the on-time processing of first-class mail, according to court filings made by the USPS on Wednesday.
Election mail, like ballots, are treated like, and often mailed at, first-class.
The lower the score, the lower the percentage that is traveling through the system on time.
Tuesday's on-time processing of all first class mail in the Philadelphia Metro District sank to 43%, down from the weekly average of 77% two weeks earlier. USPS’ Detroit District’s score isn’t much better, down to 53% from the weekly average of 72% on Oct. 10. While these scores include more than just election mail, it’s a troubling statistic in the final full week before Election Day.
The Ohio Valley, Central Pennsylvania, Greensboro, North Carolina and Lakeland, Wisconsin, districts all saw first-class mail processing scores drop into the low 60s on Tuesday.
USPS’ Baltimore District, which has never recovered from the July deluge of delayed mail, sank to a dismal 39% on Tuesday.
But despite the poor numbers for first-class processing, a more targeted measure of on-time ballot processing showed significantly better numbers.
Processing scores for ballots heading to voters, according to the data, is at 89%, down from 95% on Monday and 94% on Friday. Completed ballots heading to election officials is at 95%, according to the data, up from 93% on Monday and 95% from Friday.
CNN has reached out to the USPS for comment on the low numbers for first-class processing.
First-class mail rates have yet to recover from their July and August lows. Typically, first-class mail rates are well above 90%.
USPS argues that the data is not an indicative of its on-time delivery performance, saying it "does not produce accurate, reliable information, as it is incomplete (and) subject to change.” In the court filing, their lawyers argued that specific days of the week tend to have lower or higher scores; scores on Monday tend to be lower because there's a bigger volume of mail to process from the weekend, since mail isn't delivered on Sunday.
An Oct. 19 Inspector General report found that changes implemented in July by USPS and new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy were largely responsible for a significant slide in mail delivery.
The report said DeJoy oversaw 57 “Do It Now FY strategies” in addition to three policies he directly implemented: no late or extra trips, a complete reorganization and restructuring of USPS; and that he attempted to eliminate overtime for mail carriers.
Democrats are pointing the finger squarely at DeJoy.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement, “Despite his assurances, the Postmaster General has failed to fix the problems he created and cannot be relied on for the on-time delivery of Election Mail. At this point, Americans should either vote in person or drop their ballot in an official drop box to avoid their ballots not being delivered on time.”